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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteAs of the Federation of American Scientists’ September 26, 2026 update, a U.S. government shutdown appeared increasingly possible because Congress had not enacted full-year funding or agreed on a temporary extension that could pass both chambers. The deadline was September 30: without a funding law signed by President Donald Trump before the new fiscal year began on October 1, a lapse in appropriations would begin. That was a serious risk, not a certainty; negotiations could change the picture quickly.
How likely was a government shutdown?
The September 26 update from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) described a narrow path to avoiding a shutdown, but did not assign a probability. It reported that none of the 12 full-year appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026 had passed, and a seven-week continuing resolution (CR) backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune had passed the House but failed in the Senate. With September 30 approaching, the two chambers still needed to pass the same funding measure and the president needed to sign it.
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That status is a dated snapshot, not a prediction that a shutdown was inevitable. Legislative positions and votes can change, so the September 26 account should not be treated as a live vote count or as confirmation of what ultimately happened.
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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →When does federal funding run out?
The deadline reported by FAS was September 30, 2026. The federal fiscal year 2027 begins October 1. If Congress and the president do not put an appropriations law or temporary funding measure in place by then, affected agencies face a funding lapse.
What is a continuing resolution?
A continuing resolution is a temporary law that keeps some or all federal operations funded while Congress works on regular appropriations. It can buy time, but it does not avert a shutdown until both the House and Senate approve identical text and the president signs it. A proposal that passes only one chamber—or that the chambers pass in different forms—is not enough.
Why were the funding proposals difficult to reconcile?
The proposals differed in duration and in whether they carried policy provisions beyond a basic funding extension. Those differences affected their political prospects as the deadline neared.
| Proposal described by FAS | Duration or end date | Provisions and reported status |
|---|---|---|
| Seven-week “clean” CR backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune | Seven weeks | Passed the House but failed in the Senate, according to FAS’s September 26 update. |
| Democratic proposal described in the September 26 update | Through October 31 | FAS said Democrats preferred an extension that would also extend health-care subsidies, roll back Medicaid cuts, and restore rescission cuts. |
| Later-November CR plan discussed by Democratic leaders | Later November; exact date not stated in the September 26 update | FAS reported that President Trump cancelled a planned meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries after being briefed on the plan. |
| Earlier Senate-passed CR described elsewhere on the FAS page | Through December 11 | The Senate had passed it earlier in September, but the House still needed to act. FAS noted an OMB rule delay and other provisions that could draw House opposition. This was an earlier point in the month, not the later status of the seven-week measure. |
These were competing approaches reported at different moments in September, not an exhaustive list of every proposal under discussion. The changing chamber status matters: the earlier Senate-passed December 11 measure and the later House-passed seven-week measure were distinct proposals.
What happens if the government shuts down?
FAS describes a shutdown as a pause in non-essential discretionary agency functions until new funding legislation is enacted. It does not mean the entire federal government stops. Mandatory spending and essential services continue, while the activities that pause, staffing arrangements, and payment timing vary by agency and applicable legal exceptions.
For personal finances, the practical effects depend on the service or payment involved. In a September 2023 official statement, Representative Lou Correa said a shutdown could delay passport applications and small-business loans and affect federal employees; he also said Social Security and Medicare benefits would continue. That was a historical statement during a different funding debate, not a description of the precise 2026 agency plans. For a current shutdown, consult the relevant agency’s guidance rather than assuming every service or payment will be handled the same way.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does “We’re running out of time” refer to?
The exact source of the phrase in the headline could not be reliably identified, so it should not be attributed to a particular lawmaker. Representative Lou Correa used the similar words “We are running out of time” in a September 13, 2023 official statement about a separate funding debate. That historical remark does not establish who used the headline wording or connect it to the 2026 negotiations.
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The key point behind the phrase is the calendar: as September 30 approached, Congress had little time to pass a common funding measure and send it to the president. Whether the deadline produced a shutdown depended on the final legislative outcome, not on the rhetoric around negotiations.
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- Author: Willink, Jocko.Babin, Leif.
- Publisher: St. Martin's Press
- Pages: 384
- Publication Date: 2017-11-21
- Edition: 1
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